152 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
152 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
git-annex now has support for storing
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[[arbitrary metadata|metadata]] about annexed files. For example, this can be
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used to tag files, to record the author of a file, etc. The metadata is
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synced around between repositories with the other information git-annex
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keeps track of.
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One nice way to use the metadata is through **views**. You can ask
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git-annex to create a view of files in the currently checked out branch
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that have certian metadata. Once you're in a view, you can move and copy
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files to adjust their metadata further. Rather than the traditional
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hierarchical directory structure, views are dynamic; you can easily
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refine or reorder a view.
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Let's get started by setting some tags on files. No views yet, just some
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metadata:
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[[!template id=note text="""
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To avoid needing to manually tag files with the year (and month),
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run `annex.genmetadata true`, and git-annex will do it for you
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when adding files.
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"""]]
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# git annex metadata --tag todo work/2014/*
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# git annex metadata --untag todo work/2014/done/*
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# git annex metadata --tag urgent work/2014/presentation_for_tomorrow.odt
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# git annex metadata --tag done work/2013/* work/2014/done/*
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# git annex metadata --tag work work
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# git annex metadata --tag video videos
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# git annex metadata --tag work videos/operating_heavy_machinery.mov
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# git annex metadata --tag done videos/old
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# git annex metadata --tag new videos/lotsofcats.ogv
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# git annex metadata --tag sound podcasts
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# git annex metadata --tag done podcasts/*/old
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# git annex metadata --tag new podcasts/*/recent
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So, you had a bunch of different kinds of files sorted into a directory
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structure. But that didn't really reflect how you approach the files.
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Adding some tags lets you categorize the files in different ways.
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Ok, metadata is in place, but how to use it? Time to change views!
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# git annex view tag=*
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view (searching...)
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Switched to branch 'views/_'
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ok
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[[!template id=note text="""
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Notice that a single file may appear in multiple directories
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depending on its tags. For example, `lotsofcats.ogv` is in
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both `new/` and `video/`.
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"""]]
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This searched for all files with any tag, and created a new git branch
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that sorts the files according to their tags.
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# tree -d
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work
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todo
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urgent
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done
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new
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video
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sound
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Ah, but you're at work now, and don't want to be distracted by cat videos.
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Time to filter the view:
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# git annex vfilter tag=work
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vfilter
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Switched to branch 'views/(work)/_'
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ok
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Now only the work files are in the view, and they're otherwise categorized
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according to their other tags. So you can check the `urgent/` directory
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to see what's next, and look in `todo/` for other work related files.
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Now that you're in a tag based view, you can move files around between the
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directories, and when you commit your changes to git, their tags will be
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updated.
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# git mv urgent/presentation_for_tomorrow_{work;2014}.odt ../done
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# git commit -m "a good day's work"
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metadata tag-=urgent
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metadata tag+=done
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You can return to a previous view by running `git annex vpop`. If you pop
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all the way out of all views, you'll be back on the regular git branch you
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originally started from. You can also use `git checkout` to switch between
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views and other branches.
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## fields
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Beyond simple tags and directories, you can add whatever kinds of metadata
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you like, and use that metadata in more elaborate views. For example, let's
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add a year field.
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# git checkout master
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# git annex metadata --set year=2014 work/2014
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# git annex metadata --set year=2013 work/2013
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# git annex view year=* tag=*
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Now you're in a view with two levels of directories, first by year and then
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by tag.
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# tree -d
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2014
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|-- work
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|-- todo
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|-- urgent
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`-- done
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2013
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|-- work
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`-- done
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Oh, did you want it the other way around? Easy!
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# git annex vcycle
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# tree -d
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work
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|-- 2014
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`-- 2013
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todo
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`-- 2014
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urgent
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`-- 2014
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done
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|-- 2014
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`-- 2013
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## location fields
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Let's switch to a view containing only new podcasts. And since the
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podcasts are organized into one subdirectory per show, let's
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include those subdirectories in the view.
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# git checkout master
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# git annex view tag=new podcasts/=*
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# tree -d
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This_Developers_Life
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Escape_Pod
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GitMinutes
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The_Haskell_Cast
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StarShipSofa
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That's an example of using part of the directory layout of the original
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branch to inform the view. Every file gets fields automatically set up
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corresponding to the directory it's in. So a file"foo/bar/baz/file" has
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fields "/=foo", "foo/=bar", and "foo/bar/=baz". These location fields
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can be used the same as other metadata to construct the view.
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This has probably only scratched the surface of what you can do with views.
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